For me, 2024 was a strange year. It was, fortunately, going to be difficult to be worse than my 2023, where I spent six months redundant, constantly interviewing for jobs and feeling pretty damn useless for not landing on my feet immediately. I do not envy folks that are looking for work at the moment.

Funnily enough, despite having plenty of “free time” around applying for jobs and interviewing, I found it incredibly difficult to do things like watch anime, read manga and play video games. It’s all too easy to get into your head about being able to spend that time better, even when there’s little to nothing you can do with the job search in the given moment.

I did manage to land a job eventually, in a role that pays pretty well for overtime and taking on shifts you weren’t originally scheduled to work. Which is fortunate, as it turns out that a nine-month redundancy isn’t very affordable. I’ve had to bust my ass for it – I’ve literally worked every extra shift I’ve been offered – but doing so has meant I’ve been able to clear my debts and take a trip to Japan on top.

I wont go so far as to say I’m thankful that I’m commuting again, but it has been very good for getting through all the manga I put aside. So, despite everything, I come with recommendations for manga that I read this year. I hope you find something here that’s a little interesting.

Oh, and if you’re also struggling on the job hunt, keep up the hard work. It sucks and it’s upsetting, but try to keep your chin up, and reach out for help if you need it.

Witch Hat Atelier

If you’re at all interested in reading manga, there’s a fair chance you’ve already heard of this one. There was already a lot of chatter about it before the 2025 anime adaptation was announced, and with good reason, because this manga is pretty great.

Witch Hat Atelier follows Coco and three fellow young witches in training, as she learns to navigate life with magic after previously being told she’d never be able to wield it. The general populace knows that witches are born with the power to use magic, but it turns out that this is a lie; if you know how to use magic and have the correct tools, you can be a witch. That is, if your memories of uncovering the secret aren’t wiped first.

Coco is the exception to this rule – while she should have had her memories wiped upon learning the secret to magic, she is instead protected by the witch Qifrey and allowed to study magic under his tutelage. Her opinion and thought process isn’t the same as someone who had grown up learning magic, so she’s able to bring interesting perspectives and solutions to the problems she encounters.

This is, in my opinion, the biggest strength of Witch Hat Atelier. Coco being an exception to a rule is very tropey inherently, but her inquisitive nature and approach to tackling things is very understandable and relatable; she’s the normal person that has been thrown in with the magic users. In that sense she’s a proxy to the reader, who will not be privy to the complexities of magic, symbol drawings, taboos and so on.

This is also a seinen story that loves to dive into dark scenarios and complicated questions. A core part of the story concerns what magics should be used, and who should be able to use them. The common people do not know that anyone can use magic if they learn how – so should magic be available to all? Even among witches, there’s disagreement as to whether there should be banned spells. Coco is allowed to form her own opinions on this after seeing first-hand what unrestricted magic could mean, and this becomes more nuanced as she matures as a witch.

Anyway, it’s a terrific series. Give it a go if you don’t want to wait for the anime next year.

Ichi the Witch

Another witch manga? It’s more likely than you’d think. Ichi the Witch is written by Nishi Osamu (Welcome to Demon School, Iruma-kun!) with art by Usazaki Shiro (the not-shit half of the duo behind Act-Age), and while it’s still relatively early days, I’ve found myself very impressed with it.

It has a relatively simple premise, in that there are dangerous Magicks (creatures) lurking in the world, and only witches can pass the trials these Magicks set as a requirement to capture them and wield their powers. All witches are women, except for Ichi of course, a muscle-headed young hunter who accidentally passes the trial of a powerful Magick.

A title very suited to Shounen Jump, that’s for sure. However, as is the case with many of my favourite manga, what truly makes this one stand out is its cast of characters. Ichi is a lovable idiot with hunting on the brain, and the witch tasked with keeping him in line, Desscaras, is confident, powerful and just a little scatter-brained. The two play off each other excellently, and I look forward to their continued adventures in the new year.

Insomniacs After School

I’m not sure what it says about me, but I think I’m a bit of a sucker for romance stories where there’s some element of tragic circumstance. The Summer You Were There ticked those boxes last year, and while I wasn’t actively seeking it out, Insomniacs After School appears to be more of that. A way more chill version of that, but some similar beats nonetheless.

Ganta has anxieties that make it hard for him to fall asleep at night, and as a result, he’s short and irritable at school. Isaki has her own anxieties that prevent her from getting a good sleep, and as a result, she often hides in the school’s astronomy room to get a nap. When Ganta discovers that Isaki has been using the room to sleep in, she invites him to share the room. As a result, the two find solace in each other’s company, allowing them to sleep with fewer worries, and confide in each other about their personal lives.

Ganta and Isaki play off each other excellently, and I couldn’t help but find myself rooting for them as they work together on their personal anxieties. Their comradery evolving into the successful revitalisation of the astronomy club is also well written, and by the conclusion of the manga, there’s a lively cast of regular characters cheering them both on. Give it a go.

Hirayasumi

This is one of those manga where nothing really happens, but you can’t help but be pulled in by the mundane lives of the people inside it. Hiroto, the protagonist, is a seemingly average guy who got talking with an elderly lady one day. They become quick friends but she passes away, leaving him her house in the process.

There aren’t too many major characters in Hirayasumi, but chapters do a wonderful job of providing a window into their lives. They don’t have anything too wild going on, but you’re happy to go along for the ride. Occasionally, you also get a flashback to when the elderly lady was still alive, and you’re treated to a glimpse of the brief friendship that blossomed between her and Hiroto.

This is slice of life through and through. There are no flashy action sequences to be had here. However, few manga I’ve read this year can compete with the worldbuilding on offer here.

Touch

Touch is one of many classic manga/anime that I’d always meant to get around to. Part of that was other people calling it a classic, but for me it was for two main reasons: I really liked Cross Game, another story from the same author, and I’ve had the first anime opening stuck in my head for 20 years thanks mostly to hearing it in rhythm games and on a certain radio show. This was the year that I finally decided to read it.

I knew a few things going into this, such as the author’s love for baseball stories, and how his characters look very similar to each other, but I wasn’t expecting quite so many similarities with Cross Game either. Of course, Touch preceded that by many years, but there are many core story beats that are shared between the two. Two neighbouring families with kids that grew up together, dreams of the young female character wanting the young male character to go to Koushien, and… well, they also share a certain big event.

Still, despite these similarities, Touch is very much its own story. The Uesugi brothers have a genuinely touching relationship with each other. It’s clear very early on that they both have feelings for Minami, their childhood friend and next-door neighbour. Kazuya, the ace pitcher, is very popular and wishes quite openly to have a relationship with her. Tatsuya, on the other hand, is an easy-going young man who supports his brother’s aim to go to Koushien and achieve Minami’s childhood request. Despite his own baseball ability and affection for Minami, he hides it away and supports his brother wholeheartedly.

The trio’s relationship is, without a doubt, the reason why it has been stuck on my mind since I finished it. Kazuya and Tatsuya’s sibling relationship is perhaps a little unlikely to happen in the real world, but the manga does an excellent job on selling you on it. They’re both good kids, and they can’t both have what they want, nor can Minami. They make concessions to each other, they root each other on, and they play a shit load of baseball in the process.

I’m now reading through Mix: Meisei Story, a pseudo-sequel to Touch which you may be surprised to learn shares a number of similarities with that and Cross Game. But that’s fine, because they’re both great, and Mix has been pretty good so far, too.

…and the rest

Like my drama lists from previous years, I wanted to do a rapid-fire look at the other manga I’ve been reading this year. Namely, those that I’ve continued reading into 2024, or I just don’t have all that much to say about.

• “Oshi no Ko” – While I’m not in love with the ending, I do appreciate that they stuck to it and didn’t offer some nonsense fairy tale resolution. People are still mad about it, and that helps fuel my tired husk of a body.
• Beat & Motion – What a bizarre series. I thought for sure this was going to get canned early on, but here we are two years later. I don’t particularly dislike it, to be clear, but it always feels like it takes forever for the story to progress. Also, I keep seeing death flags where they very much do not exist.
• Blue Giant Supreme – Blue Giant is good. Blue Giant Supreme is good. If we don’t get another movie, I will cry.
• Chainsaw Man – I’m still firmly in the ‘I don’t think this series needed a part two’ camp, but there’s been some interesting stuff here nonetheless.
• Dandadan – Probably the manga I read the quickest each week. A terrific series, and I can’t wait for best girl Vamola to show up in the inevitable season two.
• Hunter x Hunter – I am very happy that we’re getting a sizable chunk of new Hunter x Hunter chapters, but boy I just want us to be off this boat already. I totally respect Togashi for not skipping to the fights, though.
• Kaiju No.8 – This has been drawn out for a long time now, alas. It feels like it’s ending soon, so I’ll stick around for that, but it was at risk of being dropped even before we got to what feels like a conclusion.
• My Dress-Up Darling – Everyone in this series is fucking cute.
• My Hero Academia – What a bizarre ending. Admittedly, the set-up with Midoriya and Shigaraki felt like it was going towards a pretty cliché resolution, and trying to circumvent that is fine, but this aint it. I think people will come to accept it better eventually, in the same way people can now talk about Naruto‘s bad ending while acknowledging what that series did in the long run, but it was a bummer way to close out the story.
• My Wife Has No Emotion – I’m not as into this series as some of the folks on-staff, but I do want to say that Mamoru is the best.
• Ruri Dragon – I’ve come down on this one a bit lately, as it’s just a little too slow for my liking. However, there’s nothing inherently bad about a schoolkid drama except one of them is a half-dragon, and I’m glad this series returned this year following the author’s illness.

Have a great 2025, everyone!